Where the huffkin was made?

A new type of medieval bakery with two ovens from Kent

Jörn Schuster, Chris J. Stevens and Andrew Powell

In 1997, a subrectangular Grubenhaus was excavated near Manston on the Isle of Thanet. This building was
located in the south-eastern corner of a medieval enclosure which also included a structure with masonry
footings, possibly a small manor house. The Grubenhaus had an entrance ramp on its north-western side, flanked
by two postholes placed on either side of the ramp near the edge of the pit. The pit was cut into the natural chalk
and up to 70 cm deep. In the south-east corner, there was a subcircular hearth or oven measuring c. 1.5m in
diameter. Its base was constructed of a layer of red-brown clay laid on a bed of tabular flint nodules on top of the
natural chalk rock which had been scraped flat (Fig. 1). Compared to the base of the rest of the pit, the area of
the hearth formed a raised platform. The northern side of the hearth/oven was formed by a narrow raised strip of
rammed chalk. Beyond this, to the north was an oblong cut whose northern side consists of a wall of compacted
chalk similar to that which separates it from the hearth/oven to its south. From the pottery recovered from the
various layers of the features construction and decay, it appears to have a time span ranging from the late 12th to
the late 13th/early 14th century. Apart from an ashy layer, none of the excavated deposits suggested an obvious
function for the installation, such as pottery or metalworking waste.

While at the time no comparisons were known for a hearth or oven of similar construction from a domestic
context in a Grubenhaus, the situation has changed profoundly in recent years. Wessex Archaeology has been
able to excavate closely comparable buildings at Star Lane near Fleet on the Isle of Thanet, Fulston Manor near
Sittingbourne and Leybourne (Fig. 2–4). Other examples have been forthcoming from Ickham (5), two or more
along the route of the A2 near Gravesend and at least 15 near Monkton on the Isle of Thanet (Fig. 6).

The new discoveries, which range in date between the 11th and 14th centuries, have led to a better understanding
of the various features discovered in the Manston Grubenhaus. Thus the large circular structures with their flint
cobble base covered by layers of smooth clay appear to be domed ovens (Fig. 7). The postholes observed to one
side of the Manston oven are most likely the traces of two large stones which supported the sides of the stoke
hole. At Star Lane, where the oven walls survived to a height of 26cm, these stones were still found in situ (Fig.
2 and 6). At Ickham, the fired base of the dome had preserved the impressions of 59 stake holes which initially
supported the structure (Fig. 5). While in some buildings, the installations next to the domed ovens are simple
floor-level hearths (e.g. at Ickham), the oblong structure at Star Lane (Fig. 8) could either be a second oven or a
raised hearth with an open top which could have received a large pot or cauldron.

The remains found in the Grubenhäusern clearly indicate that they served some or various purposes in the
production of food, among them probably the baking of bread, but other uses like cooking or even brewing
would also be possible. It is probably justified to speak of them as bakeries and/or kitchens cum brewhouse.

The buildings at Manston, Fulston Manor and Ickham were located in enclosures including possible or definite
manor houses, and the latter close to the village church. This proximity would support the possibility of
seigniorial ownership of the facilities. Certainly, the existence of separate bake- or brewhouses is implied by a
number of implements listed in the Gerefa (List B), an 11th-century guideline to the reeve on the efficient
running of the lord’s farm. The various implements mentioned in List B appear to be grouped according to where
they would be found in the farm. Those grouped at the end of the list, fire-guard, meal-hopper, curfew, oven-rake
and mash-shovel, seem to belong in the bake- or brewhouse. On the other hand, the large number of buildings
now revealed near Monkton could mean that such bakeries/kitchens were far more common and perhaps not
exclusive to manorial or ecclesiastical farms. Like at Star Lane (Fig. 9), the Grubenhäuser near Monkton were
often located in the corners of rectangular enclosures along tracks.

As bakeries and/or kitchens, the Grubenhäuser presented here will have provided essential facilities required by
every farmstead. So far, this type of building has only been found in Kent where it is especially common on
Thanet (Fig. 10). We would be very interested to hear of any comparisons you may know, from Kent or beyond.

End note
The huffkin is a type of roll that was once well known in Kent. It is a light roll with a dimple on top. After
baking, it was wrapped in a damp cloth to prevent the crust from becoming too crisp. During the time of the hop
harvest it was sometimes made with hops, but there are also recipes that mention other ingredients like seaweed
which would be in constant supply around the Kentish coast.
It should be mentioned that we have no indication for the baking of this type of roll in the buildings described
here.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Emma Boast (Trust for Thanet Archaeology), Jon Rady (Canterbury
Archaeological Trust) and Tim Allen (Oxford Archaeology) for discussing their results and providing
illustrations. Many thanks for useful discussions about details of the excavations also go to Kirsten Dinwiddy,
Elina Brook and Phil Andrews (Wessex Archaeology), to Simon Mason (Kent County Council) for pointing out
relevant new sites and to Dr Mark Gardiner (University of Belfast) for sharing his knowledge about medieval
bakeries.

References
Boast, E., 1998, Appendix 1: The sunken-featured building in site 18, 235–9, in Perkins, D.R.J., Boast, E.,
Wilson, T. and Macpherson-Grant, N., 1998, Kent International Business Park, Manston: excavations
and evaluations 1994–1997, Report 1, Archaeologia Cantiana 118, 217–255
Egging Dinwiddy, K. and Schuster, J. forthcoming, Thanet’s longest excavation. Archaeological investigations
along the route of the Weatherlees – Margate – Broadstairs wastewater pipeline. Wessex Archaeology
Monograph. Salisbury: Wessex Archaeology
Gardiner, M., 2006, Implements and utensils in Gerefa and the organization of seigneurial farmsteads in the high
middle ages, Medieval Archaeology 50, 260–7
Linklater, A. and Sparey-Green, C., 2003, Ickham Court Farm, Ickham, in Canterbury’s Archaeology 2002–
2003, 22–4

Captions

Fig. 1 Manston, Isle of Thanet, Kent International Business Park (reproduced with kind permission of Trust
for Thanet Archaeology)

Fig. 2 Star Lane near Fleet, Isle of Thanet

Fig. 3 Fulston Manor near Sittingbourne

Fig. 4 Leybourne

Fig. 5 Ickham Court Farm, Ickham (reproduced by kind permission of Canterbury Archaeological Trust)

Fig. 6 Star Lane. Grubenhaus with circular domed oven (left) and oblong oven/hearth (right)

Fig. 7 Star Lane. The domed oven with the layer of flint cobbles below the clay floor

Fig. 8 Star Lane. Detail of the walls of the domed oven and oblong oven/hearth

Fig. 9 Location of the Grubenhaus at Star Lane in the corner of a rectangular enclosure

Fig. 10 Distribution map of Grubenhäusern with domed ovens and oven/hearths in Kent